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Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Month 5 Day 22

Notebook Entry 33 reports to the ANA [Afghan National Army], Class with Samir on Maps was good literacy test to Sergeant 48%.

Journal Entry Went to the RCT [Regimental Combat Team] staff meeting in the morning because Maj Hesco was busy managing the leave flight. Col Schmitt is really a large part of the problem with advising. He said ‘I can go find the guys on Camp Garmsir to take up security duty X’ really, sir? There are 200 guys here. Only 40% are reporting for duty from the Bde [Brigade] and 35% from the GSU [Garrison Support Unit] (I told him those number, he clearly hadn’t heard them before). Where are you finding the guys. They don’t even man their own towers anymore because they are so Taxed by BDOC [Base Defense Operations Center] with manning the guard posts around base. He also said that the ANA [Afghan National Army] need to abandon their COC [Combat Operations Center] and move over to the new one the RCT made. I told him it would be a hard sell. I mean just put yourself in their shoes for a second, what would you feel like if the general I want to partner with you so why don’t you move your COC up here to Camp Garmsir. He is making decisions not supported by the facts, but supported by what he wants to happen or what he wants the facts to be.

Maj Kraus wanted me to bring Samir to him and provide him with a terp so he could teach him a class on what he wanted to teach him. I am like, man if you want to partner why don’t you drive down here, get a HQ co terp, and do your thing. I am not going to do all of the legwork for you.

I came back and worked with Samir for about 1 hour on the map. That went ok. I thought maybe he was coming around and then he changed his tune and asked to go to Kabul for the course. I wonder if he is trying to slip out on leave? I met with one of the new Sgts in the afternoon (Samir couldn’t find the other one). I gave him the literacy test, he scored 48%, if he were just straight guessing he would have gotten a 25%. So I told Samir, when I tell you we need to test the NCOs [Non Commissioned Officers] before all of the other NCOs get sent to the kandaks you need to do what I say because this was exactly what I was afraid of. We have a functionally illiterate S2 Sgt. [Intelligence Sergeant] Great.